Murphy Sitting on a shelf in the Cherokee County Historical Museum is a black-and-white photo of a soldier bundled up against the cold, waiting in anticipation for what is to come.
The photo is of Andrew Gaddis, a local resident who fought in the Korean War, earning several merits before losing his life in battle in 1951.
The photo is special because it was featured in the Jan. 15, 1951, edition of Life magazine. The photo taken by John Dominis shows Gaddis at his post on the 38th Parallel, with his Browning Automatic Rifle pointing toward the enemy in the north.
Gaddis’ sister, Mary Ann Thompson, remembers her brother as a sports athlete who was determined to join the U.S. Army.
“Our mother didn’t want him to go, but there was nothing she could do to stop him,” Thompson said.
Gaddis graduated from Murphy High School in 1949 and enlisted in the Army in September that year. After basic training in Fort Benning, Ga., Gaddis was sent to Korea attached with the 21st Infantry Division, where U.N. forces were combating an invasion of South Korea.
Gaddis was wounded in action on Sept. 2, 1950, returning to duty on Sept. 27, 1950, according to family documents. Thompson said he was hospitalized three times in his short military career.
The photograph in Life was taken just before Gaddis was killed in action on May 28, 1951, when he was only 20 years old. Thompson still has several of his medals, including the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, Combat Infantryman’s Badge and Korean Service Medal.
His sister still remembers the solemn time when her mother, Anna, was notified by the U.S. Department of Defense that her son was dead.
“She was heartbroken, she cried just thinking about him joining the Army,” Thompson said. “My father passed when I was 3 years old, and she was alone with three children. It broke her to pieces when she found out.”
Thompson remembered when her brother’s body was brought back to Murphy on a train. A large number of people showed up at the L&N Depot to honor him.
She said her brother’s body had a military escort, which stayed with the family while arrangements were made.
“I had never seen a soldier like that, and mother was worried about finding him a place to sleep,” Thompson said. “She always wanted everything done right, and she found room for him.”
The photo from Life magazine was sent to Thompson’s mother in a large frame, which Thompson has in her home. The photo and a brief description can be found at the museum on Peachtree Street downtown.